8 Great Careers Behind the Scenes in the Music Industry
Most people think of musicians when they consider careers in the music industry. However, there are many other career paths in this industry if the thought of getting up in front of people scares you or you do not like the thought of having to live out of a suitcase for years at a time. Here are eight careers behind the scenes in the music industry.
Music Producer
Music producers are tasked with overseeing the production of a song. You don’t have to be a musician yourself, but you will have to have a love of music. You will also need to be a people person as you will oversee a team which includes sound engineers and background staff.
A background in technology is a lot more important than your ability to play an instrument as you will be a techie rather than a musician. You will also need to have a good sense of what type of music sells and current musical trends.
Getting into music production is becoming easier because technology is so much more accessible than it was in the past. Many producers start off working at home and find musicians to work with them from there. The amount you can earn depends on the demand for your talent.
Band Manager
A manager is the person who focuses on the business aspect of a band’s career so that the band can concentrate on the music. Choose this as a career and you will find yourself getting involved with things such as scheduling, logistics, and HR issues.
This is a job that depends on who you know and your experience rather than your qualifications. You need to learn how the industry works and have a good instinct about how to run a business. You would be paid a salary based on a percentage of how much money the artists you were managing made.
Entrepreneur
If you have a vision and that vision can make money, then you can be a successful entrepreneur. You can relate this to the music industry in many different ways. If you want to run a business, you could set up a PR company or your own record label. If you put your mind to it, you could even discover how to start a record label. Record company owner Tal Fineman talked to Pirate, themselves a self-made music studio with a fantastic reputation in the music industry, about how to be an entrepreneur in such a fascinating industry. Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it, whether you want to find the next Beatles or figure out how to start a record label with no money.
DJ
This is a good career for those who love to perform to a crowd but who might not be musically talented themselves. You can get as involved with this career as you want to; whether you want to play the tunes at the local pub disco on a Friday night but have a daytime career too, or whether you want a prime-time slot on a national radio station, you can take this career as far as opportunity and talent will let you.
These days, being a DJ is about more than just playing records and you will need strong technical skills, mixing ability, and being good at performing in front of a crowd even if you are speaking rather than singing. Some DJs even become celebrities.
Public Relations
This is a career based on your ability to network and your powers of persuasion, so if you have these talents, you are good to go. A lot of people think that this is a career full of mingling at fabulous parties, but PR people work extremely hard to make contacts and talk up their clients.
As a PR specialist, your job is to get the band or act you are promoting into the public arena by branding them. This might involve writing press releases, producing promotional ideas, or managing their social media accounts. You may need to start off as a volunteer for a local band to gain experience, but the money and perks are good once you have started to climb the career ladder.
Sound Engineer
This career will depend on your technical abilities and your ear for what makes a good song. You will need to know the many different recording methods and be able to advise bands and musicians on what route to take. You will be working in a recording studio helping the artists record the best sound possible for their song. Technology is constantly evolving so you will need to stay on top of new developments and inventions in the industry to be competitive.
Songwriter
You can still write music even if you don’t want to perform it yourself. Many artists prefer to record songs that have been written for them rather than using this skill themselves and songwriters can make a lot of money producing material for others to play and record. Selling the songs that you have made can be difficult, so you will need to build up contacts in the industry to get noticed. Technical and business knowledge will help you to stand out from the crowd. The amount you can earn will depend on how popular your songs are because most of your money will come from royalties.
Concert Promoter
This is a cool job if you love music and are very well organized. A concert promoter brings a concert or festival together by booking, pricing, and organizing logistics. You will need to be multi-talented if you want a career in this profession, but it is an interesting and varied job where no two days are the same. A background in event planning or management is a good place to start.
These are just some of the fantastic jobs that are available in the music industry to non-musicians. This is a competitive industry, and you may have to use your social contacts to get ahead rather than your knowledge. However, if you are passionate about music, there is no other industry quite like it.
